User blog:Ugra Murda Kurma/Native American Christian
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_Church Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religious movement characterized by mixed traditional and Christian beliefs and by sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The religion originated in the U.S. state ofOklahoma in the late nineteenth century after peyote was introduced to the southern Great Plains from Mexico.[1][2][3] Today it is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with an estimated 250,000 adherents as of the late twentieth century.[4][5][6][7] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_wheel Medicine wheels, or sacred hoops, are either a symbol of indigenous North Americanculture and religion, or stone monuments related to this symbol. The monuments were constructed by laying stones in a particular pattern on the ground oriented to the four directions. Most medicine wheels follow the basic pattern of having a center of stone(s), and surrounding that is an outer ring of stones with "spokes", or lines of rocks radiating from the center with the spokes facing East, South, West and North following the cardinal directions. Some ancient types of sacred architecture were built by laying stones on the surface of the ground in particular patterns common to aboriginal people. Originally, medicine wheels were stone structures constructed by a large number of the tribes or nations of indigenous peoples of America for religious, ritual, healing, and teaching purposes. Medicine wheels are still "opened" or inaugurated in Native Americanspirituality where, by certain tribes or groups, they are referred to as "sacred hoops". There are various native words to describe the ancient forms and types of rock alignments. The most prevalent and used involves the four directions. More recently, syncretic, hybridized uses of medicine wheels, magic circles, and mandalasacred technology are employed in New Age, Wiccan, Pagan and other spiritual discoursethroughout the World. The rite of the sacred hoop and medicine wheel differed and differs amongst indigenous traditions, as it now does between non-indigenous peoples, and between traditional and modernist variations. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Dance The Ghost Dance (Caddo: Nanissáanah,[1] also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) was a new religious movement incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wilson), proper practice of the dance would reunite the living with spirits of the dead and bring peace, prosperity, and unity to native peoples throughout the region.[2] The basis for the Ghost Dance, the circle dance, is a traditional ritual that has been used by many Native Americans since prehistoric times, but this new form was first practiced among the Nevada Paiute in 1889. The practice swept throughout much of the Western United States, quickly reaching areas ofCalifornia and Oklahoma. As the Ghost Dance spread from its original source, Native American tribes synthesized selective aspects of the ritual with their own beliefs. The Ghost Dance was associated with Wilson's (Wovoka's) prophecy of a peaceful end to white expansion while preaching goals of clean living, an honest life, and cross-cultural cooperation by Native Americans. Practice of the Ghost Dance movement was believed to have contributed to Lakota resistance to assimilation under the Dawes Act. In the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, U.S. Army forces killed at least 153 Miniconjou and Hunkpapa from the Lakota people.[3] The Sioux variation on the Ghost Dance tended towards millenarianism, an innovation that distinguished the Sioux interpretation from Jack Wilson's original teachings. The Caddo Nation still practices the Ghost Dance today.[4] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Turtle The World Turtle (also referred to as the Cosmic Turtle, the World-bearing Turtle, or the'Divine Turtle') is a mytheme of a giant turtle (or tortoise) supporting or containing the world. The mytheme, which is similar to that of the World Elephant and World Serpent, occurs in Chinese, and Native American mythology. The "World-Tortoise" mytheme was discussed comparatively by Edward Burnett Tylor (1878:341). http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_Island_(North_America) Turtle Island is the name of North America, according to some aboriginal groups. LenapeEdit The Lenape story of the "Great Turtle" was first recorded between 1678 and 1680 by Jasper Danckaerts. The story is shared by other Northeastern Woodlands tribes, notably the Iroquois.[1] IroquoisEdit According to Iroquois oral history, Sky Woman fell down to the earth when it was covered with water. Various animals tried to swim to the bottom of the ocean to bring back dirt to create land. Muskrat succeeded in gathering dirt, which was placed on the back of a turtle, which grew into the land known today as North America.[2][3] In the Seneca language, the mythical turtle is called Hah-nu-nah,[4] while the name for an everyday turtle is ha-no-wa.[5] AnishnaabeEdit The term originates mainly from oral tradition, in the tale of the westward travel of the Anishinabe tribe on the land known as Turtle Island, as recorded also in the birch bark scrolls.[6] Indigenous rights activism and environmentalismEdit The name Turtle Island is used today by many Native tribes, Native rights activists, and environmental activists,[7] especially since the 1970s when the term came into wider usage. In a later essay, published in At Home on the Earth,[8] Gary Snyderclaimed this title as a term referring to North America that synthesizes both indigenous and colonizer cultures by translating the indigenous name into the colonizer's languages (the Spanish "Isla Tortuga" being proposed as a name as well). Snyder argues that understanding North America under the name of Turtle Island will help shift conceptions of the continent. InfluenceEdit The term has been used by writers and musicians, as well as others. Notable uses include Gary Snyder's Turtle Island, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the Turtle Island Quartet, a modern-day jazz string quartet, and soyfoods and Tofurky manufacturer Turtle Island Foods. ChinaEdit In Chinese mythology, the creator goddess Nüwa cut the legs off the giant sea turtle Ao (鳌) and used them to prop up the sky after Gong Gong damaged the Buzhou Mountain that had previously supported the heavens. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurma In Hinduism, Kurma (Sanskrit: कूर्म; Kūrma) was the second Avatar ofVishnu, succeeding Matsya and preceding Varaha. Like Matsya this incarnation also occurred in Satya yuga. The temples dedicated to Kurma are located in Kurmai, of Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh andSrikurmam, Andhra Pradesh. Samudra mathan (The Churning of the ocean)Edit Main article: Samudra manthanhttp://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kurma,_the_tortoise_incarnation_of_Vishnu.jpgKurma Avatar of Vishnu, below Mount Mandara, with Vasuki wrapped around it, churning the ocean of milk during Samudra manthan. ca 1870. Purana scripture indicates that the sage Durvasa had given a garland to Indra, the king of Gods. Indra placed the garland around his elephant, but the animal trampled it, insulting the sage. Durvasa then cursed the gods to lose their immortality, strength, and divine powers. After losing the kingdom of heaven, they approached Vishnu for help. He advised that they had to drink the nectar of immortality to regain their glory. To obtain it, they needed to churn the ocean of milk, a body of water so large they neededMount Mandara as the churning staff, and the serpent Vasuki as the churning rope. The Devas were not strong enough to churn on their own, and declared peace with their foes, the Asuras, to enlist their help. Finally, Mount Mandara churned, but the force was so great the mountain began to sink into the ocean of milk. Taking the form of the turtle Kurma, Vishnu bore the mountain on his back as they churned the waters.[1][2] Fourteen precious things arose from the turbulent ocean, culminating with Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods, who brought with him the nectar of immortality. The Asuras immediately took the nectar, and quarreled amongst themselves. Vishnu then manifested himself as the beautiful Mohini and tricked the Asuras to retrieve the potion, which he then distributed to the Devas. Though the Asuras realized the trick, it was too late—the Devas had regained their powers, and were then able to defeat their foes. There are three temples dedicated to this incarnation of Vishnu in India, Kurmai of Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, Sri Kurmam in Andhra Pradesh, and Gavirangapur in the Chitradurg District of Karnataka. The name of the village Kurmai mentioned above originated as there is historical temple of Kurma Varadarajaswamy(Kurmavatar of Lord Vishnu) god in this village. [3] The temple located in srikurmam in srikakulam district, andhra pradesh is also the avatara of kurma. Category:Blog posts